Philippines starts active school shooter drills after deadly attack in Tacloban City
The Philippines has introduced active school shooter drills following a rare and deadly shooting incident in Tacloban City. Education officials are implementing these measures to prepare students and staff for potential violence, citing concerns over social media influence.
Why it matters
This shift reflects a growing global concern regarding school safety and the adaptation of emergency protocols in regions where mass violence in schools was previously considered uncommon.
The Philippines has begun holding active school shooter drills after a rare act of violence in Tacloban City last month during which two teenage students opened fire, killing three schoolmates and injuring 20 others.
On Wednesday, at one educational campus in Manila, hundreds of students and teachers practised barricading classrooms with desks and chairs and staying silent as an armed actor wearing a black hoodie scoured the halls and rooms.
“We acknowledge the increasing number of violent incidents because of exposure to damaging social media sites, wrong influences and terrorist groups online actively recruiting,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara told reporters.
“We really have to be very creative and adjust to the new activities of perpetrators,” he said, adding that such exercises would be replicated in public schools across the country.
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